The 1989 World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang, North Korea (235)

Cold War Conversations

The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held from 1–8 July 1989 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It was the largest international event staged in North Korea up until then.

The event took four years of preparation by the North Korean government, which effectively spent a quarter of the country's yearly budget (US$4.5 billion) on it. Ultimately declared as the largest ever World Festival of Youth and Student with about 22,000 people from 177 countries attending.

This event was the last festival held during the Cold War era as waves of unrest began to occur throughout Central and Eastern Europe later on in the year.

Greg Elmer has directed the film “The Canadian Delegation” which features long time activist Chris Frazer who was handed the task of assembling a Canadian delegation to North Korea. The film follows Frazer and a number of other delegates as they recount their participation in the Festival as world events continued to unfold around them.

Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll get a sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.

Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/

If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.

Today’s episode is hosted by co-host Peter Ryan. I am delighted to welcome Greg Elmer to our Cold War conversation…

0:00 Introduction and background of the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students

2:21 Interview with Greg Elma: The History and Politics of the Youth Festivals

9:15 Economic implications of North Korea's festival expenditures

12:06 The Canadian Delegation: Composition and Journey to Pyongyang

21:19 Festival Atmosphere and Experiences in North Korea

27:18 Delegates' Realizations and Long-Term Impact of the Festival

36:44 The Canadian Delegation's Response to Tiananmen Square

45:20 Reaction to the Film "The Canadian Delegation"

53:19 How to Access the Film on Vimeo and Future Plans

54:07 Ian Sanders' Closing Remarks and Cold War Conversations' Call to Action

Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨

Watch the film here

There’s further information and videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode235/

If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.

Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.

The Cold War Conversations Bookshop

Help us to continue recording the stories of the Cold War by using our bookshop.

Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/

Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices